Don, I take it your local network covers multiple buildings and sites. Mine doesn't so I like the automatic off-site storage of a cloud service. I agree that there should also be a local element as the primary backup which Ron mentioned he has. That would be the primary restore source, but if a catastrophe happens, the cloud service has a secondary backup capability.

The way I look at it, I think of the things that can go wrong with my data, and then make sure my backup system can handle it. Besides hard drive and system crashes, I think about theft, files that were changed in unintended ways or deleted and not discovered for some time, computer theft, fire, flood, etc.

Ron mentioned one possibility of the cloud company stopping the service. I had that happen once. Since it was the secondary backup (essentially the third version of each file), it didn't affect my backup security. I was able to get onto a different service by the time the first company shut down the service.

You mentioned privacy. The service I use has a local utility that encrypts the files before they go on the internet. I chose it because a well known security expert put his stamp of approval on the system being used. Essentially, his point was that the company storing the files couldn't view them even if they tried.

Now, outfits like Dropbox, iCloud, OneDrive, etc don't encrypt the files at the local level to my knowledge. They are relying on their password security to protect your files, so I believe their network admins would be able to access the files if they were compelled to.

I've decided I need the automatic off-site storage and am willing to pay for it. If your network environment already has automatic off-site capability, then your situation is different than mine.